Blog 3 - Inspirations

Millenium Development Goals:
- Integrate principles of sustainable development into country policies to reverse the loss of environmental resources
- Reduce biodiversity loss
- Halve, by 2015, the proportion of poeple w/o sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
- Achieve significant improvement in the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020

SONG PLAYLIST
Songs that reflect my views on the world and my inspiration to research or participate in ensuring environmental sustainability and improving the lives of people living in slums...

Hanson - Great Divide
The first, and probably most important song to me on this playlist is by Hanson, yes Hanson. They are still around and working hard to make a difference through their music. This video is available on itunes for anyone to purchase. The money made from the purchases goes directly to HIVSA. This specific song is about the "great divide" - that of the world that millions of orphans with AIDS lives in. While my term project isn't about finding a cure for AIDS, I still think this video shows exactly the conditions that we need to fix when it comes to dealing with people living in slums. The video itself shows images of these slums as well as the beautiful children that are forced to live in them. "Ngi Ne Themba" - meaning "I have hope" is sung in the background of this song by African children. It is an inspiring video and song, and urges everyone to make a difference.

Amos Lee - Shout Out Loud

The words to to this song that I think show my beliefs about the world and our part in it are as follows:
"Cause everybodys got a part in the game, and everybodys got a cross they can claim, and everybodys got somebody to blame, but we all must find our own way."
This part of the song explains that everyone has a different path in life. And really, if we want, we can make a big impact when it comes to living a good life, helping others, and eradicating slums and poverty.

I specifically love Switchfoot because they deal with real life issues relating to the world, faith, relationships, and much more. This particular song is an encouragement for people to step up and do something. It explains the tension between "who you are and who you could be" and between "how it is and how it should be." The song then goes on to say, "Everybody's watching you now, Everybody waits for you now, What happens next?" The song doesn't say to go do any certain thing to make your life and the world better. It is sort of a challenge - What happens next? What else can we do to change the world? What else can we do to save the environment and improve the lives of people without basic sanitation and safe drinking water?

Other songs on my playlist:
-Switchfoot - We Are One Tonight
-Switchfoot - The Shadow Proves the Sunshine
-Lifehouse - Somewhere in Between
-Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
-John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change
-Newsies Soundtrack - Seize the Day
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MORE MUSIC...

LiveEarth was a worldwide concert in 2007 involving seven continents and featured more than 150 of the world's best music acts including Madonna, Black Eyed Peas, Jack Johnson, and many more.
The concert delivered a worldwide call to action and the solutions necessary to answer the call of the climate crisis. It launched a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis. Most songs were inspirational ones in hopes that viewers would be inspired to take action in their own community. The concert dvd and more information about the LiveEarth Campaign can be found at http://www.liveearth.org/event.php

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PHOTOS
Why we need to do something:

Slums in Kibera, East Africa

The effects of climate change on glaciers and arctic habitats

Unsanitary water in Madagascar

A humorous take on the more serious issue of the loss of wildlife habitats

A windfarm generating sustainable and renewable energy

An underwater turbine off the coast of New York

These photographs show the contrast of beautiful and ugly elements of our world. The world we live in today is a truly beautiful place, however, if we fail to understand how we can have less of an impact on the environment, these places will disappear. This article from the Wall Street Journal shows nine cities that are working towards a cleaner and more sustainable way of living:

To end, here is a quote to ponder:
"All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster."
- Senator Barack Obama